A leaked radio exchange between an the captain of the 'Scot Pioneer' and the French Coastguard exposed France's infuriating response to the small boats crisis. The captain was outraged after he spotted French navy vessels, including a warship, guiding the traffickers' boats around his ship towards Britain and blocked the 'Scot Pioneer' from entering Dunkirk harbour. The captain begins his protest by radioing the French coastguard with the words: 'I would like to report what is an illegal operation in your waters. This morning we witnessed a French government vessel and a French navy warship escort a boat-load of illegal immigrants across the Channel to the midway point where they handed them over to another [Border Force] ship out of Dover. It has now arrived there. Now I have the French warship passing under my stern, passing another boat-load of immigrants across the Channel. There is also another [French] vessel to the west of us which is escorting a third boat of migrants." In response, the Coastguard informed him that there was an 'arrangement' between the London and Paris governments for the French navy to escort migrant boats towards Britain.
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BONGAWAN 9
On April 14, 2024, at 10.20 a.m. four perpetrators boarded the 'Bongawan 9' along with the barge 'Hexagro 9' in pos. 1° 20.93' N 104° 21.08' E off Tanjung Penyusop. The pirates stole scrap metals from the barge.
Nhava Sheva
Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX) to start operations in October 2019 Hapag-Lloyd is expanding its African liner services and will offer its MIAX (Middle East-India-Africa Express) service starting in October 2019. It will include direct connections between the Arabian Gulf, India, Colombo (Sri Lanka), La Réunion, South Africa and West Africa.
Ngqura
South African state-run logistics company Transnet has suspended a number of employees for taking part in a lengthy go-slow campaign at the Ngqura Container Terminal in the Eastern Cape. The port said in a statement yesterday it had “suspended a number of employees at its Ngqura Container Terminal for engaging in an illegal industrial action.
ERA STAR
On March 3, 2024, at 03.45 a.m. the 'Era Staro was boarded by 8-10 perpetrators, armed iwht long knives, at the Hiron Pilot Station, Mongla, in pos. 21° 50.93' N 89° 31.82' E. They stole heave lines and messenger lines. The ship left Mongla again on April 1 and anchored off the port.
MAERSK CHATTOGRAM
On April 8, 2024, at 12.45 a.m. the 'Maersk Chattogram' was boarded by ttwo perpetrators on the Chattogram Outer Anchorage in pos. 21° 91' N 91° 7' E. The pirates stole paint, a safety chain, brass fire hgydrant caps and fire hoses. The ship left Chittagong on April 12 en route to Mongla.
Kiel
Maiden call by Marella Cruises in Kiel. In the early Tuesday morning (16th July) the cruise ship Marella Explorer (see also CruiseMapper) berthed in the port of Kiel with 2,000 mostly anglo-phone passengers on-board. The vessel follows an itinerary of 14 days leading it all across the Baltic Sea. It started in Newcastle on 13th July and will conclude its cruise in the same port on 27th July.
Tyne
The Port of Tyne has created a new baggage handling for Marella Cruises at its International Passenger Terminal, which is located in North Shields near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The port has reconfigured 300 square metres of its terminal, creating space to process 1,000 bags as well as a marquee that functions as an undercover baggage handling facility. There are now also 382 additional parking spaces specifically for Marella Cruises’ guests. Marella Cruises’ customer will be able to drop off their luggage before heading straight to a dedicated car park. The baggage will be checked by security and loaded onto the ship, expediting the embarkation process.
CASANOVA
On April 14, 2024, tat 02.47 a.m. he 'Casanova', en route from Liuheng to Son Duong, was boarded by five perpetrators, armed with pistols, in pos. 1° 4.47' N 103° 40.72' E, at the Takong Kecil Light. Nothing was reported stolen. The ship arrived in the port of destination on April 18 at 2.10 a.m. uTC.
London
All new ships for UK waters ordered from 2025 should be designed with zero-emission capable technologies, according to ambitious plans set out today by maritime minister Nusrat Ghani to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector. The commitment is set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published today. The government is also looking at ways to incentivise the transition to zero-emission shipping and will consult on this next year. The plan also includes a £1m competition to find innovative ways to reduce maritime emissions and is published alongside a call for evidence to reduce emissions on UK waterways and domestic vessels.
Whittier
U.S. Coast Guard crews have given up the search for a 49-year-old Cordova man who went missing after an explosion and subsequent fire on a fixed barge at Delong Dock in Whittier, Alaska, shortly after midnight on Monday. The fire spread to the pier and then to the Anagalik, a 99-foot commercial fishing vessel that was initially reported to have two people aboard at the time of the explosion. Whittier Police Department personnel have since confirmed one of those two is safely aboard a different vessel en route to Whittier. The fire has now been extinguished, but the fishing vessel and barge sank in 85 feet of water at the pier with a potential maximum of 5,500 gallons of fuel oil aboard. The fishing vessel owners have contracted Global Diving and Salvage for clean-up and salvage efforts. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak has searched for the missing person by air, and crews aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur and Coast Guard Auxiliary 336 searched nearby waters.